The Men Stay Plugged in on ‘Electric’ New LP Advance Track

'New Moon' is due out on March 5 via Sacred Bones

In the lunar cycle, a new moon means no moon, which always struck as unnecessarily confusing. The Men, however, are very much present on “Electric,” the raucous first single from upcoming album New Moon. The follow-up to last year’s Essential album Open Your Heart won’t be here until March 5, again on the Sacred Bones label, but this full-throttle garage-rock howler, out on seven-inch vinyl January 22, suggests fans can expect continued progression.

That’s not progression in a “prog” sense: “Electric” exudes sweat and grit, setting frantic guitar-and-drums swells sure to induce crowd-surfing between elliptical, urgently delivered lyrics. The energy and some of the chord changes bring to mind the late, great Exploding Hearts’ “Still Crazy,” and anyone who ever raised a beer at a Japandroids show ought to flip for this, but the Men almost definitely have in mind older idols. The Stooges and the MC5, anyone?

It’s worth noting New Moon won’t all be like this. With producer Ben Greenberg joining full-time on bass alongside Nick Chiericozzi and Mark Perro on guitar and Rich Samis on drums, the new LP includes piano, mandolin, harmonica, four-part vocal harmonies, and sheer noise, according to the label. In the meantime, this is “Electric,” and you gotta feel it:

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